Oliver Bearman has lauded Formula 1’s latest driver welfare innovation – the cooling vest – as “life-changing” after trialling it in Saudi Arabia last month.
However, the Haas rookie also revealed that the current car weight regulations mean he is unable to exploit the system during races.
Introduced in response to extreme heat conditions like those seen at the 2023 Qatar Grand Prix – where several drivers suffered from hear exhaustion, including Esteban Ocon vomiting mid-race and Lance Stroll briefly losing consciousness inn parc fermé – the FIA has taken steps to improve cockpit safety and comfort.
From 2024, additional cooling vents became mandatory, while an optional cooling vest system was made available for extremely hot races. In 2026, the system will be fully integrated into all F1 cars and become compulsory.
Bearman, however, explained that while the vest itself is ready for use, its weight makes it incompatible with his team's current performance setup under the FIA's strict minimum weight rules.
"I tried it in Jeddah, and it seemed really, really good, so I'm really happy with what they've been able to do to roll that out," Bearman said in Miami last weekend, quoted by RacingNews365.
A Balancing Act: Comfort vs Performance
The 798 kg minimum car weight currently makes it difficult for some teams to accommodate the cooling system without compromising overall performance. For Bearman and Haas, that means the vest remains a luxury item – reserved for practice sessions but not races.
"But unfortunately, we are not able to run it at the moment as we don't have the weight from the FIA, so we are just waiting for that, but it seems like the threshold is quite high," he added.
"I know that some teams are able to run it normally, as they have the weight margin, but if they never declare it hot enough to race, then only half the teams are getting the benefit, which seems a bit unfair."
Although earlier prototypes of the vest were less effective, Bearman confirmed that the latest version makes a noticeable difference – especially in the hottest races on the calendar.
"The original design didn't work for anyone, but now it works pretty well and you do feel it, especially on your back, because you are pushed up against the seat," he said.
"But the benefit of having cool water, even if it works for 10-15-20 laps, is game-changing."
Mitigated Heat and Humidity
Highlighting the often-overlooked issue of in-car humidity, Bearman pointed out how deceiving the raw temperature figures can be.
"Because Jeddah, for example, is such a hot race, what you don't see is the humidity, the heat. It may be 27-28 degrees, but with 60, 70% humidity, with all those layers on, it is really hot and having cool water is life-changing."
Max Verstappen regularly relies on a pre-race cooling vest to keep himself cool.
Despite the clear performance benefits during practice, Bearman had to forego the system on race day.
"It really helped me in practice, but unfortunately, we were not able to run it in the race. The whole system is too heavy, and we're trying to get the most performance out of the car, we are not trying to make the car lighter to run the cooling vest."
Until regulatory or technical adjustments are made, Bearman says drivers like him will simply have to endure the extreme conditions:
"Unfortunately, we are going to have to suffer until they change something to allow us to run it more freely, as some teams have the margin to run it."
The FIA’s commitment to improving driver comfort is clear, but until parity is achieved across the grid, drivers such as Bearman may still be sweating it out – quite literally – for performance gains.
Read also: F1i Driver Ratings for the 2025 Miami GP
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